A year ago, twenty eight year old Lisa Armstrong Reed 'princess of Oakenville', lost her husband, Keith. And now, she just got invited to her aunt's wedding at Miami. Determined to forget her dead husband for good, Lisa takes a chance at a holiday and hops into the next available flight to the Florida city, in anticipation for a well-deserved vacation. What she doesn't expect is to find herself in the same room with Keith's handsome, half naked brother for whom she harbours a yearlong crush! Damien Reed 'kinda kissed' his brother's wife last year, and she shut him out almost immediately. Now with his brother dead, and Lisa miraculously turns up as a bridesmaid at his friend's wedding, he's more than prepared to let her know how he feels about her. When a simple wedding getaway turns to a war zone, with stalkers and greeting cards claiming to be from Keith, wyill the two finally find a happily ever after together or is a second chance at romance too hot to handle? [Cover design by Mikael]
View MoreLisa's POV "I heard there's a really good ice cream shop around here," Leigh is saying from behind the steering wheel of Selena's Mustang, while I'm sitting in the passanger's seat with Willow in my laps, wondering why in the world Leigh chose to drag me along with her. "What a way to combat all this sun, am I right?" I couldn't agree more. Even my hair is beginning to frizz up from the humidity. But the pool should have been much more better. "So why did it have to be me?" I moan out loud. Willow yips in agreement. I should have been lazily lounging around in the pool with others. Or having a nap. Not moving around on a hot day like this in search of an ice cream shop. "Everyone else is… busy?" Leigh turns left, manoeuvring the steering wheel with one hand while slipping strands of her brown hair behind one ear with the other hand. "Consider this a thank you outing for Willow, for letting me borrow one of her storybooks. You're just tagging along." "Who says my dau
Glenn's POV I watch Yvette attack the tub of ice cream it seemed like she forgot it existed. She reminds me of Skylar in many ways. The obvious love for food. The round cheeks. The big eyes. The cuteness. Yvette and Skylar both have these in common. I used to like watching Skylar eat. She made the simple act of filling her mouth with tuna sandwich the sexiest and most fun thing to watch. Wait a minute, what? Why am I thinking of something like this now? Even before we all came together in this holiday villa for Wade and Selena's pre-wedding vacation, I've known Yvette Jones. I've met her multiple times in the gaming software company where Wade works as a director. And in those times, we always end up exchanging banters. Why did she not remind me of Skylar then? Why now? There's a smear of ice cream beside her lips. I should pretend I didn't see it. "You have a bit of ice cream beside your mouth," I'm already saying in spite of myself. "Let me get it for you." I lean
Yvette's POVWhat the hell is wrong with me?! I stomp to the kitchen and collapse into the stool next to the granite island. Jeremy isn't my boyfriend. I'm at fault for having a crush on him in the first place. I'm at fault for mistaking him for a prince charming, for allowing him to sweep me off my feet the night of that luau party. It should not be any business of mine if he decides to date someone else instead. If he decides that all he wants to do is make out with her in front of everyone. But it does hurt. My heart is cracked open, and it hurts like a knife wound to my chest. Hot tears sting the back of my eyes, but I squeeze them back by pinching my nose between my thumb and forefinger and counting to ten on a deep exhalation through my mouth. Don't cry, I tell myself. Don't cry. Jeremy doesn't care if you do. Right now he's only interested in his new lover. I hear approaching footsteps and lurch to my feet, checking my eyes on the reflective screen of my phone
Glenn's POV Damien was once my most favorite person. He used to be my best friend. We met when we were eight years old, during a housewarming party both of our fathers attended, and automatically drifted towards each other in the crowd filled with boring old people, busy with champagne and boring old people's talk. We played hide and seek that day within the new mansion our fathers' mutual friend just built, and accidentally, I pushed down a huge Ming dynasty vase. While everyone else made a huge fuss about the decorative item that they said cost more than a first-class ticket to the Maldives, Damien stood by me, and we bore the punishment together. We were both grounded throughout the holidays. And when I met him again in grade school, I knew instantly we would be great friends. Friends that will always have each other's backs. We both had wealthy fathers, so he was equally familiar with the perks and demerits that came with it. If only I can meet that eight year old me and give him
Yvette's POV I can't stop thinking about yesterday. "Everything all right, Yvette?" Leigh tips herself towards me to peer in my face. We've just had breakfast, and I'm lounging outside beside the pool with Leigh. Her hair is set in multicolored rollers, and with her Versace sunglasses perched at the bridge of her pert nose, and her mouth painted a dark red, Leigh looks every inch a formidable queen, half as formidable as Queen Charlotte looks in the Bridgerton series, her long legs folded carefully under her like a gazelle. She is wearing a crisp white shirt over her blue swimsuit. "Yeah, of course." I look over at the swimming pool. There were gasps and moans coming from here last night, and when I peeked to see who the sources of the noise were, it turned out to be Damien and Lisa. It was so passionate, though I couldn't bear to look any further while imagining it was Jeremy and I. No wonder the mood today during breakfast was significantly better than it was last night. Almos
Ally Rose's POV While in the shower, I scrub my hair in utter frustration. Truthfully, I arrived at my uncle's villa without the knowledge it's being rented out for the summer. Because I have the keys to the front door, and because my benevolent, wealthy uncle, Maurice Singer, granted me access to his luxurious beach house at anytime I desire to crash at the place, I took advantage of my annual leave at my uncle's firm and hopped into the next available flight to Miami right after ending my relationship of three weeks with a really cute doctor, hoping to have the entire house to myself. It was Selena I met first the minute I set foot in the house. She was at the kitchen island, nursing a cup of coffee meditatively and staring out the window at the approaching sunrise when I rolled in my suitcase. After she learned of my identity, the kind lady had no qualms with letting me stay for some time, bless her heart. I believe it's the universe that let me come over to Palm Paradise. If I di
Lisa's POV Fireworks explode in my chest when his soft mouth meets my lips, tentative and gentle at first, though it inspires the opposite reaction in my heart. I can almost feel the beating against my ribcage. It isn't our first kiss, though it's different. It is the first kiss that's ours, and i savor it for long moments. Damien pulls back and catches his breath, as if the kiss took him by surprise, then presses against me again. The second assault is shockingly sensual too. It slams into me, defeats all my senses. It's almost appalling how much I want this. How much I want to feel his hands all over me. I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. He stands against the wall of the pool, with my body tight against him. His hand slides low, down to my ass, and he squeezes roughly. I gasp into his mouth, and he plunges his tongue deeper into my mouth. Our tongue war and collide, the tips circling one another. "How about this for criminal evidence?" He whisp
Damien's POV "Lisa." She turns sharply, and exhales when she sees it's me. She attempts a small smile that still brightened her face in an instant. I suck in a breath at how beautiful she is. "Damien. Hi." "Hello." I settle down beside her and deep my own feet into the pool. The water is a little bit on the icy cold side, but I think that's just what I want. "What are you doing out here alone?" "I don't know. Stargazing?" I glance up at the starless sky. "Yeah right. The stars are exceptionally pretty today. Look at that big one over there." I grab the base of her ponytail and shake her head from side to side. "You moron," she laughs, smacking my bicep. It's a far cry from the fake laughter I just listened to moments ago. Lisa doesn't laugh as daintily as you might think she does because of her ethereal looks. It's a boisterous kind of laugh that sometimes sounds weird, but it's like music to my ears nonetheless. I can listen to her laugh all day. And stare at her forev
Damien's POV Willow is asleep. I'd just taken her to Lisa's room and barricaded her with several pillows so she won't roll off the bed, a trick I picked up from some random TikTok video. Now I open the door and step out to find Ally Rose in front of me. She smiles at me. The kind of dollish smile that curves her lips in an almost 'U' and pushes up her cheekbones. She looks so different from the last time I saw her. Thinner, and prettier. Fortunately, her wonderful makeover has absolutely no effect on me. "Hey, Damien," Ally Rose simpers. "It's really been long." Back at Tennessee, when I'd been dispatched with my team to provide security at a charity event, she offered this same smile at the bar where I and my colleagues came to cool off. I found it charming then. Now I find it distasteful. I close Lisa's door behind me. "Has it?" "Yes, duh." Ally Rose disregards my attempt at a rebuff with a flick of her delicate wrist. "I've been meaning to talk to you."
Lisa's POV I stood outside the morgue on that May evening, unable to believe my senses. It was like every normal day, nothing changed. The sun was already ducking behind fluffy clouds that reminded me of the dough I abandoned back home, on the kitchen island next to Emilie's elbow. The sky was stained with the reds and pinks of an approaching dusk. The spring breeze ruffled my chestnut shoulder length hair, and like the previous day, I could smell rain in the air. Except that Keith, my husband, who was supposed to be at home, is in there. Lying cold, dead, in a freezer. "Have you heard anything from Damien all these while?" Emilie had asked two hours ago, when we both were in my kitchen, and I was lining up my ingredients for my chocolate chip cookies. Flour, sugar, butter, eggs. Right then, baking had become more than just one of my hobbies. Since my baby bump got bigger, and Emilie, Keith even, had encouraged me to take a break from managing my restaurant, Duke's Table, baking ha...
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